Stand Dynamics in a Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Barren, Warm Springs Mountain, Virginia

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dc.contributor.authorPowers, John Williamen
dc.contributor.committeechairKennedy, Lisa M.en
dc.contributor.committeememberCampbell, James B. Jr.en
dc.contributor.committeememberCopenheaver, Carolyn A.en
dc.contributor.departmentGeographyen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:44:11Zen
dc.date.adate2010-09-08en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:44:11Zen
dc.date.issued2010-08-11en
dc.date.rdate2013-02-06en
dc.date.sdate2010-08-25en
dc.description.abstractVirginia's only montane pine barren, located in the Warm Springs Mountain Nature Preserve in the Allegheny Highlands of western Virginia is likely threatened by successional changes initiated by a history of fire suppression. Dominated by early successional fire adapted species, such as dwarfed Pinus rigida (Mill.) and Quercus ilicifolia (Wangenh.), this shrubland is home to numerous rare plants and invertebrates. We used vegetation analysis and dendrochronology to document establishment and recruitment patterns and to identify successional trends at this site. Tree establishment of the dominant tree species (P. rigida and Quercus rubra L.) peaked following the last known fire event in the early 1930s. Vegetation analysis revealed an absence of P. rigida seedling recruitment as well as a low density of fire adapted species such as Q. ilicifolia. In contrast, Q. rubra is represented in a variety of age classes and shade tolerant trees such as Acer rubrum (L.) and Pinus strobus (L.) are beginning to establish. A dense understory of ericaceous shrubs and a thick litter layer appear to inhibit recruitment of P. rigida and other early successional species pointing to the need for active management in the form of prescribed burns, which have been effective in other pine barrens.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-08252010-115542en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-08252010-115542/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/34767en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartPowers_JP_T_2010.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectSouthern Appalachiansen
dc.subjectpine barrensen
dc.subjectPinus rigidaen
dc.subjectfire ecologyen
dc.subjectdisturbanceen
dc.titleStand Dynamics in a Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Barren, Warm Springs Mountain, Virginiaen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineGeographyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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